


breathes in deep the air with joy

by potato_writes



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Snowball Fight, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, numerous starks acting as window dressing, this fic has as much substance as cotton candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28130811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potato_writes/pseuds/potato_writes
Summary: They arrive in Winterfell two days before the snowstorm hits.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 43
Kudos: 109
Collections: JB Festive Festival Exchange Stocking Stuffers 2020





	breathes in deep the air with joy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EllisJay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllisJay/gifts).



> i was not going to do any stocking stuffers, but this idea decided to possess me when i was scrolling through the prompts so i had no choice but to write it. there is no substance to this whatsoever, but it made me very happy so hopefully you are able to share in the joy of it. the title is from great comet, because i am who i am.
> 
> thank you for reading, and enjoy!

They arrive in Winterfell two days before the snowstorm hits. 

Brienne had agreed to come visit the Starks up North months ago, back when the prospect of several weeks surrounded by shoulder-high piles of snow seemed much more exciting, and Jaime, like any good roommate and best friend, had trailed along with her, armed with incessant chatter to entertain them on the drive up and a multitude of exceedingly useless observations on everything they passed—Brienne’s words, not his. 

And it has, to his shock, been delightful. The Starks are...well, not fond of him is putting it very mildly, but he’s managed to form a strange bond with Catelyn Stark over their shared love for Brienne, and the younger ones have been delighted by him from the instant they realized he’d both encourage _and_ join in with their reckless games, despite the disappointed lectures he keeps getting from Catelyn. Even the three days they’d been trapped inside by the snowstorm have been filled with hot chocolate by the fire and trading stories late into the night, until even dour Ned Stark cracked a smile.

When the snow finally stops falling, the Stark children charge outside in a stampede of thick fur coats and delighted shouts, laughing and whooping as they leap into snowdrifts and skid across icy patches and wrestle each other into the white blanket covering everything around them. Catelyn and Ned linger indoors, and Brienne looks as if she wants to do the same, but Jaime grabs her hand and pulls her away from the warmth of the living room before that can happen.

“Come on,” he tells her, tugging her into the entryway while she weakly protests, making no effort to pull away. “We never get to see snow down in King’s Landing. Let’s take this opportunity while we can.”

She hesitates for another moment, casting a guilty look back at where their hosts are, and Jaime pulls at her hand again and offers her his best pleading expression, one he’s heard from reliable sources is a hundred-percent effective. “Please, Brienne? You wouldn’t deny your best friend the one thing he’s ever asked for, would you?”

“The one thing you’ve ever asked for,” Brienne repeats with a snort and a shake of her head. “Very likely, Jaime.” She doesn’t protest when he hands her coat over, though, and he allows himself a smug smile as they finish bundling out before stepping outside into the crisp winter air.

Jaime closes his eyes and draws a deep breath in, letting the quiet wash over him as they stand just outside the door, shoulder to shoulder as they take in the world around them. He knows he’s a notorious chatterbox, but there’s a peace to this moment that’s difficult to disturb even for him—though it’s quickly shattered by Arya screaming with delight as Robb hurls her into a massive heap of snow.

He shakes his head and begins to walk forward, keeping an eye on the slippery ground beneath his feet. Everything is blanketed in white, still and calm and—mostly—undisturbed except by the antics of the Stark children and by his and Brienne’s footprints as they slowly make their way into the wonderland around them.

Brienne pauses in the middle of the yard, her head turned up to the sky, soft white flakes settling in her hair, and something tightens in Jaime’s chest at the sight. It’s the same feeling he gets sometimes in their shared apartment, when she’s laughing over takeout or intently watching baseball or swatting him with a dishtowel when he’s being particularly annoying. He’d hated the feeling at first, hadn’t known how to interpret it or explain it, but now he simply ascribes it to _Brienne,_ to everything about her that makes him warm and happy and so, so grateful she’s his friend.

So of course, the logical response is to reach down and grab a fistful of snow, pack it into a tight ball, and hurl it at the back of her head.

“ _Jaime!_ ” she shrieks, whipping around to glare at him, and a laugh bursts out of him before she lunges in his direction, a huge smile spreading across her face, and he nearly trips over himself in a bid to flee before she catches him.

He snatches another handful of snow as he runs and spins around to toss it over his shoulder, though the action almost sends him skidding into the drift Arya’s still struggling to climb out of. It manages to distract Brienne for a moment, and he briefly thinks he’s gotten away with it—until her snowball comes whipping at the back of his neck faster than he can hope to evade it.

It’s his turn to yelp loudly as snow drips down his back, bitterly cold creeping beneath his warm coat, and he hears Brienne laughing delightedly behind him right before another snowball smacks into the back of his head and sends him whirling around to return the favour.

They throw snowballs back and forth for a long while, until Jaime’s breathless with laughter and his sides ache, until Brienne’s cheeks are flushed bright red and her eyes are shining, until he’s cold and soaked to the skin and deliriously happy as they race around in the snow, more child-like than the children still running about behind them. He doesn’t remember the last time they just _lived_ like this, having been so busy between work and social engagements and the general hustle and bustle of life in King’s Landing. He loves being in the capital, and he loves the work he does there, but it’s nice to be able to breathe for a while, and it’s even nicer that he gets to do so with Brienne at his side.

His wandering away into his thoughts for a moment proves his downfall, as Brienne seizes the advantage of his distraction and throws herself at him, tackling him into the snowbank at his back with laughter in her eyes and a smile spreading across her face. The warmth of her body pressed against his is a stark contrast to the chill of the snow all around him, and he leans into her instead of struggling to get free like he normally would.

It’s...nice, actually, to be trapped between the snowbank and Brienne, to have her grinning victoriously down at him, to feel that tightening of his chest as he smiles back and lets her keep pinning him down in the snow. He’d stay in this moment forever if he could, basking forever in this joy and Brienne’s warmth and the shouting of the Stark children he can still hear in the background. He still won’t say he _likes_ the North—he has a reputation to uphold, after all—but there’s so much _love_ here, flowing through the air around them and slipping into his mind and making his heart swell as he gazes up at his best friend, silhouetted against a slowly clearing sky.

Her smile falters, suddenly, and his own brow furrows in worry. “You alright?” he asks, tugging a hand out of her grip so he can smooth it over her cheek.

Brienne meets his gaze, something he can’t quite read gleaming in those bright blue eyes as she nods. “Yeah,” she murmurs, her head turning slightly as if she wants to nuzzle into the touch of his hand, and he abruptly can’t breathe around the thickness in his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Good,” he manages to say, right before she surges forward and presses her lips against his.

For a moment, a part of him that’s half-drunk on laughter and wintertime and Brienne thinks _yes, this is right, this is what’s been missing_ , and then all thoughts are fleeing his mind as he wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her close, gasping into the heat of her mouth and reveling in the sensation of her soft smile as they continue to kiss, wrapped up in each other and the icy embrace of a snowbank, the cold unable to touch them as they hold each other close and the sun emerges from behind the clouds to bathe the world in light.

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to fill the vibe/prompt 'Childish snow games that end in realizations of love'. there are no actual realizations of love because jaime got stubborn, but they _are_ strongly implied, so there's that. 
> 
> writing most of this in less than an hour when i should have been going to bed probably does not qualify as chill vibes, but this was actually a very low-stress story to write and i am in fact much more chill now that my brain isn't screaming at me to write it. i also made the wise decision to not finish it when i was half-asleep, so my decisions were really quite sensible.


End file.
